TxMike Interesting title, I don't know if the short story it is derived from started this way, but for the movie we hear the old Sinatra recording "How About You".The story is set in Ireland, a single lady has used her inheritance to buy her home with a larger "retirement home" building next to it. She has perhaps a dozen or so residents, older men and women who can get along fine but prefer living there to living on their own. They each have a private room, and there is a large common room for dining and relaxation.The "problem", as it were, are a nucleus of 4 residents who virtually never leave the premises and who also have become jaded to the point where they make other residents unhappy. Some residents have actually left because of these and it seems that the retirement home is barely making enough money to stay in business. If it closes down, the 4 may not be accepted anywhere else.Hayley Atwell is Ellie Harris, the younger sister of the retirement home owner. She has come to ask her sister for a place to stay, and a job, so that she can save enough money to take a long trip with her boyfriend and others. Ellie has some rough edges, is young and impetuous, but when their mother becomes ill and her sister has to leave right before Christmas, Ellie is pressed into service and put in charge. All the other residents left to visit friends and relatives for the holidays, but the 4 grumpy residents remained for Ellie to deal with, which was quite a handful.A nice, smaller movie, a good diversion on a Friday night and reasonably good entertainment.SPOILERS: After a couple of days of dealing with the crotchety 4, and trying to accommodate their whims, Ellie gets fed up and reads them the riot act. She points out how difficult they are, how they might cause the home to be closed down, and all that results in a renewed "family" atmosphere.

David Ferguson Greetings again from the darkness. Based on a short story by Maeve Binchy, this film is prevented from going too deeply thanks to the TV direction of Anthony Byrne. This one really has the feel and pace of a Hallmark Movie of the Week ... only with a really nice cast.Hayley Atwell (The Duchess) plays Elle, the black sheep of the family, who shows up unannounced at the private retirement center her big sis owns. The home is struggling due to the rude behavior exhibited by four of the residents played by Brenda Fricker and Imelda Staunton (as sisters), Vanessa Redgrave (a former performer who longs for the spotlight again) and grumpy, lonely widower Joss Ackland (from the EverReady Bunny commercials, and for his line "Diplomatic Immunity" in Lethal Weapon 2). These four don't much like each other and certainly don't care for any others. Until ... you guessed it ... Elle reminds them what living is all about.Must also mention a terrific supporting turn by Joan O'Hara, who brings a little wisdom and a twinkle in the eye to Elle. Sadly Ms. O'Hara passed not long after filming. I really thought Ms. Staunton stood out for her interesting portrayal of the co-dependent sister with a dark family secret. Well, at least it is dark for this film, which again, just doesn't dig too deeply into anything.A message film with the simple message that loneliness should be avoided and don't stop living until you have taken your last breath. The title song is played at least 3 different ways in the film.

anirban1985 This was one of those stories where you got a hunch about the direction in which it was heading within 10 minutes of the start, and your hunch was never proved wrong. Maybe a few wobbles, but nevertheless, it remained on track throughout. So this was why I could sit back and notice every tiny detail cropping up, and I can very well claim that the execution was near faultless. So, what the hell if the story's predictable ? There's something beyond plot that impresses you in a movie and this one came out in flying colors there. The lines were perfect and they were delivered with just the right punch. The four "hardcores" let their character transformation seep in, in just the right measures, and hence the ride never seemed jerky. The editing was so crisp that just when you started seeing the danger signal and was anxious lest the movie might start dragging, the story went on to the next step. At just the right time. The tears and sentiments just stopped short at the point where you might feel it might overflow. In all, I think they ran the risk of boring the audience by taking on a story that went on a monotonic path and being well aware of this, they left nothing unturned to nullify that risk. But, it's the message behind the movie that moved me the most. For those who dread the days when they would grow old and begin to drag their dysfunctional existence, this was the movie to watch. Life does not give us the cold shoulders once we start aging, it's we who choose to go into a selfish cocoon at this time of the day ---this was a message that could do with a lot of repeating. Thus, to conclude, the bottom line is that ---Dear Mr. Prospective Viewer, please do not go into this movie expecting something vigorously original, just sit back and try to listen to what the movie has to offer: there's pieces of information there that might just come out handy.

Jedred33 I have just seen How About You at its U.S. premiere as part of the 2008 Palm Springs International Film Festival. Although there are, as we've grown to expect, beautifully judged performances from Joss Ackland, Brenda Fricker, Imelda Staunton and Vanessa Redgrave, to say nothing of the up-and-coming younger actors, the highlight for me was the performance of Irish actress Joan O'Hara, whom I did not know. Ms O'Hara gave us the most beautiful, sensitive, intelligent face of a very mature woman I have ever seen, a face which the camera seemed to caress in closeup. I was saddened to learn that Joan O'Hara herself died in July 2007 and this may have been her final performance.